Green/Smith v. Ford Motor Co., D-101-cv-2019-01083 (N.M. Dist. Ct. Nov. 12, 2019)

Green/Smith v. Ford Motor Co., D-101-cv-2019-01083 (N.M. Dist. Ct. Nov. 12, 2019)

On behalf of trial counsel The Tracy Firm and Keller & Keller, successfully defeated Defendant Ford Motor Company’s personal jurisdiction challenge in this wrongful death/products liability case.  Ford argued that it should not be subject to the jurisdiction of New Mexico’s courts under a specific jurisdiction analysis, and further it argued that its registration as a foreign corporation doing business in New Mexico did not equate to consent jurisdiction.  DP&S was able to convince the court that Ford was wrong on both counts under existing New Mexico and U.S. Supreme Court precedent.  The court held that Ford was subject to specific jurisdiction under the “stream of commerce” theory, and that Ford’s compliance with New Mexico’s Business Corporation Act meant that Ford had consented to jurisdiction in New Mexico.

Justin R. Kaufman, PartnerRosalind Bienvenu, Partner